Soon, deaths from dehydration and disease due to lack of water will exceed the bombing deaths in Gaza. From Abdallah al-Naami at middleeasteye.net:
Israel has cut off water supplies to the besieged region, and also damaged desalination plants and pumps during its bombardment
A man in Gaza sells water in tanks carried from donkey-drawn carts on 30 October (AFP/Mahmud Hams)
Weeks after Israel followed through with its threat to cut water supplies to Gaza, Palestinians living in the besieged territory are struggling to survive without the basic necessities.
Residents of the area currently being bombarded by Israeli warplanes told Middle East Eye that obtaining water has become a “daily ordeal”, and they fear the spread of disease with a number of residents already dealing with stomach ailments and other illnesses.
Israel cut off water supply to Gaza shortly after the 7 October attack by Hamas-led Palestinian fighters on southern Israel.
During the attack, around 1,400 Israelis died and more than 220 were taken captive. At least 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliation for the assault.
Israeli authorities conditioned the resumption of water supplies on the return of the hostages, but has also attacked other means of water delivery and sewage treatment in the territory, such as desalination plants.
“Our access to water, be it for drinking or cleaning, has diminished significantly. The quest for even a modest amount of fresh water has become a daily ordeal,” said Osama al-Baz, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza.
Baz’s family were forced to leave their home in northern Gaza on 13 October after Israel warned civilians living there that they were not safe.
They now live with friends in the south of the region, where they are part of a group of 20, including several elderly people and six young children.
